Heidelberg Cement came back strongly in 2023, overcoming the challenges stemming from high inflation, soaring energy costs coupled with a sharp devaluation of the taka against the dollar.
The Germany-based cement maker secured a profit of Tk 460 million in 2023, after suffering a net loss of Tk 233 million in the year before, according to its annual disclosure published on Wednesday.
Encouraged by the remarkable turnaround, the board of directors of the company declared a 25 per cent cash dividend for 2023, increased from 10 per cent for 2022.
Despite the positive news, the stock plunged 2.75 per cent to Tk 262.1 per share on Wednesday.
Higher selling prices "compared to the cost of goods sold" helped the company return to profit, said the company in its earnings notes.
The cement maker managed to offset some of the costs by increasing sales prices while reduced prices of raw materials in the global market brought down production costs, said company secretary Md Emdadul Haque.
Heidelberg Cement is the manufacturer of Ruby and Scan brand cement.
The company increased sales prices by 10-15 per cent in 2023, compared to the year before, despite inflationary pressure. It also took various measures to control costs.
Heidelberg Cement is yet to disclose annual sales. Its nine-month sales stood at Tk 13.85 billion through September last year, an 8 per cent increase year-on-year.
The cost of sales, which includes all associated costs to produce cement, stood at Tk 12.28 billion in the nine months through September last year, which was 89 per cent of total sales, down from 95 per cent of total sales in the same period of the previous year.
The company's net operating cash flow saw a significant jump to Tk 21.78 per share from Tk 3.80 per share a year ago, mainly for higher sales collection.
Heidelberg Cement will hold an annual general meeting on May 8 while the record date is April 2.
It acquired Emirates Cements Bangladesh and Emirates Power. Both the organisations merged with Heidelberg Cement in 2021.
The cement maker also acquired a 99.99 per cent stake in Meghna Energy in 2017 and merged with the company in 2020.
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